Before entering high school, I was living in a suburban town right outside of New York City. I absolutely loved where I loved; I love my friends, I loved my family being close by, and I loved my proximity to Manhattan. Then one day, my parents decided that I was going to go to high school in Rhode Island, a state where homes and schools were surrounded by fields and farms. Entering high school that year in a completely different place had a huge impact on my education, and an impact at the way I viewed my education as well.
My high school in Rhode Island was completely different than the high school I would have attended if I had stayed in New York. The class sizes were much smaller, and the amount of kids in each grade were much smaller as well. My high school back in New York was set up much differently than Chariho Regional High School, the high school I graduated from, was. My school in NY had three levels, all three filled with classrooms equipped with the latest technology. On the other hand, CHS was only one level, a giant square with halls shooting off of it, with old, drawn on desks. There was a major difference in the resources available between the two schools as well. My high school back in NY had a HUGE library, filled with thousands upon thousands of books, encyclopedias, and any other reference book that a student could possibly need. Also, there was a completely separate wing of the library with hundreds of computers inside, all installed with the latest software. Chariho however, only had a few hundred books, and only a handful of computers. Even though the high school I had switched to had much fewer resources, I believe that it gave me the advantages I need to be prepared for college.
Schools in Rhode Island compared to schools in New York for the most part pail in comparison. New York state has a lot more money to give to their schools, therefore, they are newer and fresher. Even though this is so, I believe that my high school setting was good for me. Coming from a place where everything was handed to me and I didn’t have to work much in school, the new school system showed me that I have to work a lot harder. There were a lot less resources and a lot fewer people who would just get things for me, so I had to learn to become savvy when finding research for papers and what not. Also, not always having the necessary tools, such as a computer, available at school taught me that I need to manage my time better and take advantage of the time that I did have with a computer. Another thing that I learned a lot from was having a smaller graduating class in high school than I had before. I learned that I had to work a lot harder to stand out, because the percentage numbers were smaller to the decreased class sizes. I ended up graduating number 19 out of 244, in the top 7.8%, where in New York I was much lower. I had always done well in school and had always been smart, but my move gave me the push I needed to do better.
The two school systems that I have been involved in in my lifetime were completely different from one another. In New York, I went to school with close to 1,000 kids in my graduating class, where in Rhode Island, there were under 250. In high school, I was provided with a lot fewer resources than in middle school, but that taught me how to do research online and how to be more self-sufficient. Looking back on my high school experience, I would say that Chariho High School taught me a lot. I learned to be more motivated, more competitive, and overall learned to become a better student.
EDC 102H
09/22/2010
High School Schooling
Before entering high school, I was living in a suburban town right outside of New York City. I absolutely loved where I loved; I love my friends, I loved my family being close by, and I loved my proximity to Manhattan. Then one day, my parents decided that I was going to go to high school in Rhode Island, a state where homes and schools were surrounded by fields and farms. Entering high school that year in a completely different place had a huge impact on my education, and an impact at the way I viewed my education as well.
My high school in Rhode Island was completely different than the high school I would have attended if I had stayed in New York. The class sizes were much smaller, and the amount of kids in each grade were much smaller as well. My high school back in New York was set up much differently than Chariho Regional High School, the high school I graduated from, was. My school in NY had three levels, all three filled with classrooms equipped with the latest technology. On the other hand, CHS was only one level, a giant square with halls shooting off of it, with old, drawn on desks. There was a major difference in the resources available between the two schools as well. My high school back in NY had a HUGE library, filled with thousands upon thousands of books, encyclopedias, and any other reference book that a student could possibly need. Also, there was a completely separate wing of the library with hundreds of computers inside, all installed with the latest software. Chariho however, only had a few hundred books, and only a handful of computers. Even though the high school I had switched to had much fewer resources, I believe that it gave me the advantages I need to be prepared for college.
Schools in Rhode Island compared to schools in New York for the most part pail in comparison. New York state has a lot more money to give to their schools, therefore, they are newer and fresher. Even though this is so, I believe that my high school setting was good for me. Coming from a place where everything was handed to me and I didn’t have to work much in school, the new school system showed me that I have to work a lot harder. There were a lot less resources and a lot fewer people who would just get things for me, so I had to learn to become savvy when finding research for papers and what not. Also, not always having the necessary tools, such as a computer, available at school taught me that I need to manage my time better and take advantage of the time that I did have with a computer. Another thing that I learned a lot from was having a smaller graduating class in high school than I had before. I learned that I had to work a lot harder to stand out, because the percentage numbers were smaller to the decreased class sizes. I ended up graduating number 19 out of 244, in the top 7.8%, where in New York I was much lower. I had always done well in school and had always been smart, but my move gave me the push I needed to do better.
The two school systems that I have been involved in in my lifetime were completely different from one another. In New York, I went to school with close to 1,000 kids in my graduating class, where in Rhode Island, there were under 250. In high school, I was provided with a lot fewer resources than in middle school, but that taught me how to do research online and how to be more self-sufficient. Looking back on my high school experience, I would say that Chariho High School taught me a lot. I learned to be more motivated, more competitive, and overall learned to become a better student.